Fears of Famine Grow as Food Aid to Gaza Is Impeded

Palestinians wait for food from a charity kitchen amid a shortage of food in Rafah. (Reuters)
Palestinians wait for food from a charity kitchen amid a shortage of food in Rafah. (Reuters)
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Fears of Famine Grow as Food Aid to Gaza Is Impeded

Palestinians wait for food from a charity kitchen amid a shortage of food in Rafah. (Reuters)
Palestinians wait for food from a charity kitchen amid a shortage of food in Rafah. (Reuters)

Only 10 percent of Gaza’s food and medical needs find their way to the Strip through a very narrow window, following the closure of the Rafah crossing after Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the border on May 7.

Along with the ongoing military operations, Israel is waging a different kind of war against civilians, obstructing international Arab supplies of aid, and threatening more than a million people with death and famine by mid-July, according to international estimates.

“The war machine is the only side that benefits from the current situation, while the people of Gaza are starving due to Israeli restrictions on the entry of food aid,” Dr. Bashar Murad, Executive Director of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in the Gaza Strip, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

His remarks were echoed by media advisor to UNRWA Adnan Abu Hasna, who called for “urgent solutions to stop the specter of famine in the Gaza Strip.”

He called for “an end to the war, for Israel to open crossings and humanitarian corridors, and increasing the volume of aid...”

The International Emergency Response Conference for Gaza, which was held in Jordan earlier this month, reviewed the catastrophic situation on the ground after eight months of war. It noted the destruction of 60 percent of buildings and at least 80 percent of commercial facilities in Gaza. Educational and health institutions have also been turned to rubble.

The conference highlighted “the displacement of more than 1.7 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, or 75 percent of the population, since the beginning of the war.”

In addition to food scarcity, the residents of Gaza are facing a severe shortage of potable water as sewage and seawater have seeped into the coastal enclave’s underground reservoir, Abu Hasna noted.

“The continuation of the current conditions... makes the situation in Gaza the worst in history, and an unbearable hell,” he underlined.

On June 12, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke about famine-like conditions facing a large segment of Gaza’s population, noting that 8,000 children under five “suffer from acute malnutrition.”

These estimates are consistent with warnings issued in early June, in a joint statement by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Program, along with the UN Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, predicting that half of the population of the Gaza Strip “will face death and famine by mid-July.”

Bashar Murad told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Signs of famine appeared in northern Gaza, and deaths were recorded there, as well as in the city of Deir al-Balah, due to the severe shortage of food aid.”

He also noted a government report, last Friday, that confirmed the death of 33 children due to famine, and the appearance of signs of malnutrition in 85,000 children.

“Despite the Arab and international airdrops of aid, quantities are insufficient, and the food shortage is increasing,” he said, adding: “Israel is using food as a weapon in violation of international law, and is exposing the residents of Gaza to famine by preventing the entry of aid.”

Regarding the obstacles facing supplies, Murad believes that the best solution is for Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which he described as “the main artery of the Gaza Strip.”



Amputee Palestinian Boy Image Wins World Press Photo Award

This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times, won the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, 28 June 2024. (Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times, won the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, 28 June 2024. (Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times/World Press Photo via AP)
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Amputee Palestinian Boy Image Wins World Press Photo Award

This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times, won the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, 28 June 2024. (Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times, won the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, 28 June 2024. (Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times/World Press Photo via AP)

A haunting portrait of a nine-year-old Palestinian boy who lost both arms during an Israeli attack on Gaza City won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year Award Thursday.

The picture, by Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times, depicts Mahmoud Ajjour, evacuated to Doha after an explosion severed one arm and mutilated the other last year.

"One of the most difficult things Mahmoud's mother explained to me was how when Mahmoud first came to the realisation that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, 'How will I be able to hug you'?" said Elouf.

The photographer is also from Gaza and was herself evacuated in December 2023. She now portrays badly wounded Palestinians based in Doha.

"This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations," said Joumana El Zein Khoury, World Press Photo Executive Director.

The jury praised the photo's "strong composition and attention to light" and its thought-provoking subject-matter, especially questions raised over Mahmoud's future.

The boy is now learning to play games on his phone, write, and open doors with his feet, the jury said.

"Mahmoud's dream is simple: he wants to get prosthetics and live his life as any other child," said the World Press Photo organisers in a statement.

The jury also selected two photos for the runner-up prize.

The first, entitled "Droughts in the Amazon" by Musuk Nolte for Panos Pictures and the Bertha Foundation, shows a man on a dried-up river bed in the Amazon carrying supplies to a village once accessible by boat.

The second, "Night Crossing" by John Moore shooting for Getty Images, depicts Chinese migrants huddling near a fire during a cold rainshower after crossing the US–Mexico border.

The jury sifted through 59,320 photographs from 3,778 photo journalists to select 42 prize-winning shots from around the world.

Photographers for Agence France-Presse were selected four times for a regional prize, more than any other organization.

Nairobi-based Luis Tato won in the "Stories" category for the Africa region for a selection of photos depicting Kenya's youth uprising.

Jerome Brouillet won in the "Singles" category Asia-Pacific and Oceania for his iconic picture of surfer Gabriel Medina seemingly floating above the waves.

Clarens Siffroy won in the "Stories" category North and Central America for his coverage of the gang crisis in Haiti.

Finally, Anselmo Cunha won in the "Singles" category for South America for his photo of a Boeing 727-200 stranded at Salgado Filho International Airport in Brazil.